Dissention
by richard the pedantic
Summary: Sequal to Army of Exiles, Silas has been awarded his own ship. Unfortunately, it's maiden voyage proves to be more eventful then expected.


Right, I haven't given up on 'Left Behind', I've just foolishly decided to write three fan fics at once.  
  
Also, before I forget, I don't own the Matrix, it owns me.  
  
This is set five years after 'Army of exiles'.   
  
Dissention  
  
By Richard the pedantic  
  
Chapter 1: Changes  
  
Silas walked slowly through the halls of the 'Shadow', a ship which he was still having trouble believing was his to command. Ship commands were only, usually, given to the most renowned hackers that had been unplugged from the Matrix; he was a humble reporter who had stumbled across the Matrix.  
  
Despite his less then illustrious introduction to the Real world however, Silas' reputation had grown as the years went on. He was now known for being the final catalyst for peace talks with the machines, he was a veteran of the war with the 'New Order', and he had spent over five years onboard the Nebuchadnezzar, a ship which contained such renowned crewmembers such as Trinity, Neo and Morpheus. People who served onboard the Nebuchadnezzar had a habit of going on towards greatness.  
  
When Commander Locke had given him the news, Silas could do nothing for almost two minutes but stand motionless with his mouth hanging open. This almost brought out a grin from the Commander, which had it succeeded would have signified an historic first. He had been able to suppress it however, and when Silas had sufficiently recovered from the shock the news had brought about, he spent three days living in disbelief.  
  
The ship employed the same design as the Nebuchadnezzar, but whereas his old posting had a rustic, 'lived in' appearance, everything onboard the shadow was shiny and new. Although Silas repeatedly found himself missing the familiar atmosphere of the Neb, he was glad that the pestiferous pipe that had invaded his sleep for the last five years was now a charred memory of a migraine.   
  
"Impressive isn't it?" Said Gemini who emerged from the shadows of the Shadow and placed herself directly behind Silas, thus making him jump.  
  
"What the," he said whilst flinching, "how the hell do you do that?"  
  
"Practice" she said with a look on her face that showed that she was suppressing laughter.  
  
"I see." Silas replied with a mixture of light irritation and humour before returning his gaze to the corridors of his ship.  
  
"Impressive is right," he said, "I can't help but miss the musty, rustic atmosphere of the Neb though."  
  
"Tell me about it," Gemini's voice sounded almost mournful, "ships just don't look right unless there's more rust then metal."  
  
"Progress I guess," Said Silas, returning his gaze to Gemini, "So when do the rest of the crew arrive?"  
  
"I think that Orion and Necromancer will be arriving with their things in about five hours, as for the others, I can only guess."  
  
Silas nodded in satisfaction. At first, he was worried that the three former Nebuchadnezzar crewmembers, (who, until recently, were all Silas' superior officers,) may have a problem accepting him as a captain. The three had accepted the transition with a surprising smile however.  
  
It was not just Silas that had had change forced upon him. Humanity was expanding. More people then expected, (or hoped for) had decided to leave the Matrix. This in turn had lead to the rebuilding of several of the less damaged, surface based cities, none of which were anywhere near completion however.  
  
Peace with the machines had also brought about some interesting changes of its own. The 'Shadow' would be the first Zion based ship to have a machine crewmember. 'CMU-003', otherwise known as '3'. 'She' was the first A.I to be programmed with limited emotions, as well as the machines first sketchy attempt at a human-like personality.  
  
Since the council and numerous military personnel were fearful of a racist attack on the machine, this crewmember would have to be picked up from Zero-one itself.  
  
There would also be four human crewmembers joining the 'Shadow'. One being 'Nimitz'. A reasonably young, un-plugged' male who looked a lot like Orion, only with long hair. He had made something of a name for himself among hacking circle within the Matrix.  
  
Secondly, there was 'Gryphon'. A woman in her mid 20's with long blonde hair that stretched down to her waist. She had a similar story to Nimitz's. She would be serving as third in command after Necromancer.   
  
Thirdly, there was 'Ranger', a quiet, individual who had chosen to leave the Matrix out of sheer boredom, fortunately however, this had not been his reason for signing onto a ship. His résumé showed him to be a talented technician, which would hopefully prove helpful.  
  
Finally, there was 'Wraith', a fairly short yet disturbingly energetic Japanese female with short brown hair and impossibly bright green eyes.   
  
"I think I'm going to go check out the medical centre." Said Gemini after a few moments of silence.  
  
"You mean you haven't already? I would have thought that you'd charge there the second you set foot onboard the ship."  
  
Gemini blushed slightly, thus suggesting that Silas' suggested scenario wasn't far from the truth.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go check it out again alright?"  
  
"Suit yourself, I might come with you."  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
"Whoa." Said Orion, staring up at the shiny ship above him.  
  
"My sentiments exactly." Added Necromancer who was staring at the 'Shadow' with matching awe.  
  
The two had arrived three hours before the ship was due to disembark, and three hours before the rest of the crew, not counting Gemini and Silas. On seeing it however, they were content enough to spend hours gawking at it from the outside as opposed to seeing what wonders lay within.  
  
"Are we going inside or what?" Asked Necromancer, being the first to fall to temptation.  
  
Orion returned his head to its resting position and turned to face Necromancer.  
  
"I was waiting for you." He said innocently.  
  
"Sure you were." Necromancer replied, resulting in laughter from both he and Orion.  
  
When the two finally made it inside, they found themselves equally surprised and amazed by the shiny, advanced looking interior. Everything looked polished, upgraded and (for lack of a better word), better.  
  
When they entered the mess hall, they found Gemini and Silas within.  
  
"We were wondering when you two would show up." Said Gemini as Necromancer and Orion sat down, staring at their surroundings as they did so.   
  
"So what do you think?" Asked Silas.  
  
"What can I say?" Said Necromancer, still looking at his surroundings, "it's a work of beauty."  
  
"I just hope that the sentinels don't get overly envious of her and attack us on the way to Zero-one." Added Orion, thus bringing about small amounts of laughter from the four.  
  
"Let's just hope that our travels onboard this ship are as interesting as those onboard the Neb." Said Silas before throwing back another few gulps of water.  
  
"Here's hoping," said Necromancer, "but with no wars or pesky programs trying to kill us all, it just seems like there'll be nothing to do but unplug people and deliver assorted detritus to one of the surface cities."   
  
"You sound disappointed Necromancer." Said Gemini in a surprised tone of voice.  
  
"Not really," he replied, "just bored."  
  
To be continued  
  
A bit of a slow starter I admit, just give it time.  
  
Hope you enjoyed it. 


End file.
